Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Government cuts income of 230 Donegal Mná Tí is a scandal - Senator Doherty

Published: 18 February, 2010

Donegal Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty has described as scandalous the announcement that funding from the government to Mná Tí for hosting Irish language students is to be cut by 5%. Senator Doherty also accused Fianna Fáil senator Brian Ó Domhnaill as being week kneed and unwilling to stand up for his constituents when he claimed in the Seanad that this cut would be happily welcomed by Mná Tí.

Senator Doherty said:

"The announcement by Minister Éamon Ó Cuív in the Seanad that he is to cut funding to Mná Tí is a scandal. These families open their homes each summer to help those from outside the Gaeltacht to learn Irish. They provide accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper along with washing student's clothes and tending to their other needs that would usually be tended to by their parents. For this the Government pays each Mná Tí €10.50 per night and the colleges match this.

"There is no B&B in the country that would provide such a service, however this government feels that these Mná Tí are been paid too much and therefore have cut their payments by 5%. For many who keep Irish students this cut comes on top of cuts to their social welfare payments and are happening at a time of increasing home heating costs and additional financial burdens that the government are placing on them such as the necessity to submit engineer's reports.

"In my own county of Donegal there are over 230 Mná Tí who have and continue to provide an invaluable service to the promotion of the Irish langauge. Senator Ó Domhnaill's claim in the Seanad that this announcement will be happily welcomed is wide of the mark and shows a lack of understanding of the difficulties that families are facing. The reality is that some Mná Tí in my own constituency will lose over €500 as a result of this cut and if the colleges match it they could face losing over €1,000. This may be insignificant to Senator Ó Domhnaill who is handsomely rewarded from his Seanad salary and Údarás salary not to mention generous expenses, but this means a lot to a Mná Tí who is dependant on Social Welfare payments to get by that have already been slashed in the December Budget.

"How this government can justify taking from Mná Tí while pumping Billions of our money into the banks is beyond me. Senator Ó Domhnaill should join with me in standing up for Donegal interests, he should straighten up his week knee and stand up to a government that has lost it way. ENDS